Chirag Paswan received an anonymous letter containing a direct death threat.
His office requested an urgent investigation and review of his security.
The Home Ministry, CRPF and Bihar government were informed about the threat.
Union Minister Chirag Paswan has received an anonymous death threat warning that he would be “killed shortly by hardcore terrorists”, prompting his office to seek an urgent investigation and a review of his security arrangements.
Paswan, the Union Minister for Food Processing Industries, is currently protected by a nationwide Z-category security cover.
In a letter to the Union Home Secretary, Paswan’s additional private secretary described the threat as a “matter of grave concern” involving the minister’s “personal security”.
According to the letter, Paswan’s ministry received an unsigned communication on Tuesday containing two mobile numbers and a direct threat to his life.
“The threatening portion of the communication, excluding the mobile numbers mentioned therein, reads: ‘You will be killed shortly by hardcore terrorists,’” the letter said.
Paswan’s office said the explicit wording of the threat had raised serious concerns about his safety.
“The contents of the communication, particularly the direct nature of the threat and the reference to ‘hardcore terrorists’, are a matter of grave concern and give rise to serious apprehensions regarding the safety and security of the Hon’ble Minister. The original communication is enclosed for kind perusal,” it said.
The minister’s office requested authorities to determine the source and authenticity of the communication and examine the circumstances in which it was sent. It also sought a reassessment of Paswan’s security, particularly in view of his scheduled public engagements.
“In view of the above, I am directed to request that the matter may kindly be taken up on an urgent basis and a thorough investigation into the origin, authenticity and circumstances of the threatening communication may be initiated without delay. It is further requested that the security arrangements of the Hon’ble Minister may be reviewed and suitably augmented, as considered necessary, in view of the threat perception and his scheduled public engagements,” the letter said.
Copies of the communication were also sent to the Central Reserve Police Force and the Bihar government.
On August 30, Paswan demanded the resignations of Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular) founder Jitan Ram Manjhi and his son, Bihar minister Santosh Kumar Suman, after they advocated a review of SC reservation and sub-categorisation within the quota.
Paswan argued that reservation was not charity or an economic benefit subject to periodic review, but a constitutional right arising from the historical experience of untouchability and social discrimination.
Manjhi rejected the demand and called for Paswan’s resignation instead.
“It is not us, but Chirag Paswan who should resign as he is unable to understand the point Santosh and I have been making in the broader interests of Dalits,” Manjhi said.
